"Operation: Get the Lakers in the playoffs" has begun..

[monty4329]

Even outside of the collusion crap, the value of the Lakers offer has fallen even since the trade deadline:

Ball - out for season with ankle issue, still has a bat crazy father who doesn't want him in NO
Ingram - out for season due to DVT, could be career threatening
Kuzma - good on offense, net negative on defense

All of the rest are veterans and scraps nobody wants.

I don't think the Lakers 10th-12th pick is really gonna seal the deal.

I totally agree, but I've seen worse (i.e. Pau trade...), anyway the Lakers could very well acquire a lot of assets to offer NO. Also, do you think NO can get much on the market this summer? Look what we got for Nephew (a bad contract). I expect serious talks between the Warriors and NO if Durant leaves, in that case the Lakers will get Thompson

[superbigtime]

I just LOVE this.

[TimmyBuckets]

Wow Ingram's injury was the worst possible thing that could've happened to the Lakers. Let go of Randle and now left w/ Lonzo and Kuz as pieces? Lol. I wonder how this is gonna effect Celtics' offers for AD now that Lakers have less value. Could effect entire AD market.

[monty4329]

Wow Ingram's injury was the worst possible thing that could've happened to the Lakers. Let go of Randle and now left w/ Lonzo and Kuz as pieces? Lol. I wonder how this is gonna effect Celtics' offers for AD now that Lakers have less value. Could effect entire AD market.

We could trade DDR + White for AD

[R. DeMurre]

I have no doubt in my mind that If LeBron was in the West his whole career he would only have been considered as a very good all star but not a legend and maybe somewhere even in the top 30 of all time. Just saying...

Top 30? C'mon-- that's ludicrous. Looking at his stats, traditional & advanced, that argument is impossible. This is an "off" year for him and he's putting up 27.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 8 apg, 1.4 spg, shooting 51.7 FG%. He's led the league in RPM multiple times... There's no serious way to argue there are 29 guys who can say they've had the same impact.

[R. DeMurre]

Wow Ingram's injury was the worst possible thing that could've happened to the Lakers. Let go of Randle and now left w/ Lonzo and Kuz as pieces? Lol. I wonder how this is gonna effect Celtics' offers for AD now that Lakers have less value. Could effect entire AD market.

I'd bet that AD to the Lakers is done... The only far outside shot I can see is if the Lakers beat the odds and get the #1 pick, and even in that case, it would be a risk to give up 3 years of Zion on a rookie scale versus AD being maxed out...

I still see Toronto as the best option for New Orleans-- Siakam & whatever pieces sets them up for success paired with Jrue Holiday.

[TheCerebral1]

Operation: Who gives a about Lebron James and his "rent a ring" campaign. Also, the Los Angeles Lakers.

[baseline bum]

Very true point. Imagine Duncan in the East his whole career. If the lottery balls had bounced the Celtics way like the odds said they would Timmy could have 15 Finals appearances on his resume. Who would have ever stood in his way out east except for a challenge from the Pistons in the mid-2000s? It took a super-team and luck for LeBron to capture his first two les. The Cleveland le was an astonishing 3-1 meltdown by the Warriors. I'm not saying take away anything from those 3 rings, but Tim might have had 8-10 championships by being in the Finals almost every year.

That's lunacy. If Tim was on Boston there would be no David Robinson, no Manu Ginobili, and no Tony Parker lining up next to him. The Celtics completely botched Chauncey Billups' development and they would never be in a position to draft Paul Pierce with Duncan on the team. Watching Tim have to carry Antoine Walker and Dana Barros would have been brutal.

[baseline bum]

According to ESPN, the Pels are set not to send AD to the Lakers. Thye must be seriously pissed at Magic bullying tactics. Plus they have the same ownership of the Saints who were robbed and raped by LA team (their lady owner wrote a great letter to the fans about being livid at the robbery).
I hope Toronto sign nephew and then somehow find the way to trade him for AD: god that would be fun (I know it is technically impossible, but it would be lovely).

Well of course now. Ingram's trade value is zeroed out by his DVT and they're not trading a HOF player in his prime for crap like Kuzma and Ball. Not that Ingram wasn't crap too, but at least he had that five game stretch after the AS break.

[Dex]

Well of course now. Ingram's trade value is zeroed out by his DVT and they're not trading a HOF player in his prime for crap like Kuzma and Ball. Not that Ingram wasn't crap too, but at least he had that five game stretch after the AS break.

No way the Hornets touch Lonzo after his daddy went on ESPN crying that he didn't want his kid in New Orleans.

Lavar is already enough of a nonsense when he is playing for the team he wants...I can't imagine they want anything to do with that drama.

[BillMc]

Operation: Who gives a about Lebron James and his "rent a ring" campaign. Also, the Los Angeles Lakers.

This man gets it.

[Dex]

My favorite Laker Fan lament so far, courtesy of reddit:

I don't think people understand how much I ing hate the Lakers this year.
EDIT: For people quoting me and asking things. Yes, Caruso is a solid backup. Williams also showing signs. But that's not the issue. I hate the Lakers this year cause of how everything was handled; The stupid signing of players. The injuries we encountered. Luke's idiotic coaching for years now. LeBron's "I'm bigger than life" at ude. defense. offense. Robs Bible stories like we're about to fight the Holy War. Magic's lunacy. The Anthony Davis saga. The fact nobody gives a that after all these years and that after 5 years of sucking, we get LeBron, we still suck.
So year, I hate the Lakers, and this nightmare can't end soon enough.

[Spurtacular]

Man, Lakers losing to everybody.

[monty4329]

My favorite Laker Fan lament so far, courtesy of reddit:
I don't think people understand how much I ing hate the Lakers this year.
EDIT: For people quoting me and asking things. Yes, Caruso is a solid backup. Williams also showing signs. But that's not the issue. I hate the Lakers this year cause of how everything was handled; The stupid signing of players. The injuries we encountered. Luke's idiotic coaching for years now. LeBron's "I'm bigger than life" at ude. defense. offense. Robs Bible stories like we're about to fight the Holy War. Magic's lunacy. The Anthony Davis saga. The fact nobody gives a that after all these years and that after 5 years of sucking, we get LeBron, we still suck.
So year, I hate the Lakers, and this nightmare can't end soon enough.

And here there's people smearing Spurs FO....
20+ years in the playoffs, etc etc...Spurs is the ing holy grail of basketball organizations

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

This man gets it.

Bill, amazing signature. Props.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

That's lunacy. If Tim was on Boston there would be no David Robinson, no Manu Ginobili, and no Tony Parker lining up next to him. The Celtics completely botched Chauncey Billups' development and they would never be in a position to draft Paul Pierce with Duncan on the team. Watching Tim have to carry Antoine Walker and Dana Barros would have been brutal.

I guess I imagine the Celtics, or any team, having the motivation to put the right pieces around a once in a generation talent like Tim Duncan, so my thought process involves the pieces around him changing.

Maybe a better example would have been Timmy going to Orlando in the FA signing that wasn't. Orlando was motivated to build a super-team at the time, and may have made the moves to do so. It's a whole bunch of what-ifs, I realize. Maybe the best hypothetical scenario is what if the Spurs had never gotten moved from the East to the West. Leave the Spurs in the Eastern conference where they started and how many les would they have had.

Bottom line is there was always a major obstacle to the finals out West, and yet Timmy found his way there 6 times. The Spurs of the East would have had a much easier finals path and Tim's career may be lauded amongst the top two or three players of all time instead of the top 5 to 10.

[baseline bum]

I guess I imagine the Celtics, or any team, having the motivation to put the right pieces around a once in a generation talent like Tim Duncan, so my thought process involves the pieces around him changing.

Maybe a better example would have been Timmy going to Orlando in the FA signing that wasn't. Orlando was motivated to build a super-team at the time, and may have made the moves to do so. It's a whole bunch of what-ifs, I realize. Maybe the best hypothetical scenario is what if the Spurs had never gotten moved from the East to the West. Leave the Spurs in the Eastern conference where they started and how many les would they have had.

Bottom line is there was always a major obstacle to the finals out West, and yet Timmy found his way there 6 times. The Spurs of the East would have had a much easier finals path and Tim's career may be lauded amongst the top two or three players of all time instead of the top 5 to 10.

If Tim went to Orlando it would have been the same situation since they had a ton of unproductive money tied up in Grant Hill. Duncan was obviously the foundation of everything the Spurs did but he's not winning five rings on some Eastern conference team drafting crap with their #25-30 pick every year. Orlando, Boston or whoever else isn't finding Manu at #57, TP at #28, and George Hill at #26 and then trading him for Kawhi at #15. And they wouldn't have the stability of a generational coach like Pop who has been able to adapt the team as times have changed. Rick Pitino or Doc Rivers wasn't coaching him to five rings. The Spurs were a perfect storm of a generational talent in Duncan, an unselfish willing and able mentor in Robinson who was still a pretty great player too, and the best organization an NBA team has ever had from GM to coach to assistants. Every part of that equation was critical to those five rings. We already saw what happens to a generational talent who doesn't have that kind of first rate front office building the team around him in David's prime.

[Leetonidas]

Operation get Lakers the #1 pick has begun tbh

[BillMc]

Bill, amazing signature. Props.

Cheers bro.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

If Tim went to Orlando it would have been the same situation since they had a ton of unproductive money tied up in Grant Hill. Duncan was obviously the foundation of everything the Spurs did but he's not winning five rings on some Eastern conference team drafting crap with their #25-30 pick every year. Orlando, Boston or whoever else isn't finding Manu at #57, TP at #28, and George Hill at #26 and then trading him for Kawhi at #15. And they wouldn't have the stability of a generational coach like Pop who has been able to adapt the team as times have changed. Rick Pitino or Doc Rivers wasn't coaching him to five rings. The Spurs were a perfect storm of a generational talent in Duncan, an unselfish willing and able mentor in Robinson who was still a pretty great player too, and the best organization an NBA team has ever had from GM to coach to assistants. Every part of that equation was critical to those five rings. We already saw what happens to a generational talent who doesn't have that kind of first rate front office building the team around him in David's prime.

Valid points. I lived through Prime Robinson's career getting wasted, so I feel the pain in that as much as anyone, and get what you're saying.

My argument really wasn't about Tim taking eastern teams to the finals, it was more about had Tim played in the east, rather than the west, how would his career have looked. So perhaps my last example about the Spurs having never been moved to the Western conference is a more valid comparison. Give Tim his team, his city, and his teammates in the Eastern conference for twenty years instead of the West, and what would his legacy look like now. That probably a better stated question.

[sasaint]

If Tim went to Orlando it would have been the same situation since they had a ton of unproductive money tied up in Grant Hill. Duncan was obviously the foundation of everything the Spurs did but he's not winning five rings on some Eastern conference team drafting crap with their #25-30 pick every year. Orlando, Boston or whoever else isn't finding Manu at #57, TP at #28, and George Hill at #26 and then trading him for Kawhi at #15. And they wouldn't have the stability of a generational coach like Pop who has been able to adapt the team as times have changed. Rick Pitino or Doc Rivers wasn't coaching him to five rings. The Spurs were a perfect storm of a generational talent in Duncan, an unselfish willing and able mentor in Robinson who was still a pretty great player too, and the best organization an NBA team has ever had from GM to coach to assistants. Every part of that equation was critical to those five rings. We already saw what happens to a generational talent who doesn't have that kind of first rate front office building the team around him in David's prime.

You need to re-post this summary of greatness every few weeks as a reminder to a bunch of folks on ST. Perfect, sir.

[Arcadian]

They're not getting in.

[R. DeMurre]

Not getting help to make the playoffs, not getting Zion, none of it. The conspiracy theorists are just dead wrong in this thread.

[Seventyniner]

My argument really wasn't about Tim taking eastern teams to the finals, it was more about had Tim played in the east, rather than the west, how would his career have looked. So perhaps my last example about the Spurs having never been moved to the Western conference is a more valid comparison. Give Tim his team, his city, and his teammates in the Eastern conference for twenty years instead of the West, and what would his legacy look like now. That probably a better stated question.

Or, alternatively, if the NBA had a 1-16 seeding system in place with no conferences from the start of Duncan's career. How many more playoff and series wins would Duncan have, and how many fewer would LeBron have?

[rjv]

If Tim went to Orlando it would have been the same situation since they had a ton of unproductive money tied up in Grant Hill. Duncan was obviously the foundation of everything the Spurs did but he's not winning five rings on some Eastern conference team drafting crap with their #25-30 pick every year. Orlando, Boston or whoever else isn't finding Manu at #57, TP at #28, and George Hill at #26 and then trading him for Kawhi at #15. And they wouldn't have the stability of a generational coach like Pop who has been able to adapt the team as times have changed. Rick Pitino or Doc Rivers wasn't coaching him to five rings. The Spurs were a perfect storm of a generational talent in Duncan, an unselfish willing and able mentor in Robinson who was still a pretty great player too, and the best organization an NBA team has ever had from GM to coach to assistants. Every part of that equation was critical to those five rings. We already saw what happens to a generational talent who doesn't have that kind of first rate front office building the team around him in David's prime.

not to mention how adept the spurs were at bringing in quality veterans such as horry, elie, finley, willis and so on.